Apparatus for removing tendons from fowl



I Sept. ,1353 s. J. OGRABISZ 2,653,346

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TENDONS FROM FOWL Filed April 20, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 1 22 v 3npentor v g v a ya /n10 fabjsz, -W %;y

. ttorneg Sept. 29, 1953 s. J. OGRABISZ 2,653,346

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TENDONS FROM FOWL Filed April 20, 1951 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Sje pjzen J Ograi??? I WK 7 ttorneg Patented Sept. 29,1953 .rsur OF APPARATUS FOR REMOVING TENDONS FROM FOWL Stephen J.Ograbisz, Hamburg, N. Y.

Application April 20, 1951, Serial No. 222,035

6 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for removing tendons from turkeys,chickens, or the like, and it has particular reference to mechanism withwhich the legs may be securely clamped and broken,- and the lowerportions of the legs and tendons may then be removed.

Growers of fine fowl have heretofore endeavored to meet the wishes ofdiscriminating custerriers by extracting the tendons from the thighs ofdressed birds. To this end, it has been proposed to position the legsbetween a pair of relatively movable jaws, which, upon furtherseparation, would pull the tendons loose from their anchorages. Suchdevices of this nature which have come to my attention have not,however, been satisfactory. They are cumbersome and difficult tomanipulate, and the legs frequently slip during the pulling operation,so that the grower is left with a tedious task of extracting the sinewsby hand. Another objection is that available machines are not suited tothe various breeds and sizes of turkeys and chickens,

inasmuch as an apparatus which will work to some extent on largeturkeys, for example, is practically useless on small Holland whites or'c'apons.

The machine of the present invention has been found to overcome theseand other objections,

and to give uniformly good results on all kinds of fowl. In thefollowing description, there will be set forth a detailed exposition ofthe best embodiment known to me, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan with certain portions broken away;

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections taken substantially on the correspondinglynumbered lines on Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective of a portion of a releasing mechanism; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective of a clamp jaw.

vThe machine comprises four upright legs 1 I which are advantageouslyangularly disposed to provide a wide base area, thereby increasing thestability.- These are interconnected at their lower portions by side.and center stretchers l2 and l3, and the front legs are furtherinterconnected by a top stretcher M. The tops of the legs are connectedto a pair of parallel rails l5 and it, between which are mounted a fixedback casting pr frame I! and a rotatable front casting or frame l8, eachof which carries leg gripping clamps, as will presently be described. Asupporting platform I9 for the fowlfispivotally h'oiint'ed betwen theback legs adjacent the bot- 2 tom edges of the rails i5 and i6, and itmay be adjustably positioned by changing the setting of brackets 2!extending from the back of the plat-- formto the legs, and provided witha series oi. holes 22, in which retaining screws 23 may be inserted.

The back casting li comprises end flanges 2B and 27, for connection tothe rails l5 and [6, a vertically disposed web 28, a rearwardly extend:-ing horizontal ledge 29, and a depending bracket 35 adjacent the flange21. Spaced fillets 32, 33, between the web and ledge serve to strengthenthe casting. A pad 34 is also formed on the front face of the casting toprovide a lever mounting, as will presently appear. The upper portion ofthe web 28 is provided with V-shaped notches 35 and 35, so spaced thatthe legs of a fowl may be conveniently pressed therein. The edges ofthese notches are faced with clamping jaws 37, whose inner edges areformed with downwardly sloping teeth 38. When the legs of the bird areforced down into the jaws, the teeth bite into them, and therebycontribute materially to the retention of the legs against slip-- page.

The tightness of the gripping action is so great that it is a matter ofsome difiiculty to remove the legs from the jaws by tugging on them withthe fingers, even after the tendons have been removed. Accordingly, areleasing mechanism is provided, which, by simultaneously striking thestumps of the legs from the under side, frees them from the jaws. Thismechanism includes a .pair of posts ii which are slidably mounted inapertures formed in the ledge 29 in line with the notches 35 and 36, andwhich carry spaced blocks 32 on their upper ends, and are threaded intoa bar 43 at their lower ends. The posts 4| are encircled by springs 64below the ledge 29, and therefore the assembly is biased to a positionwherein the blocks :32 rest on the top, of the ledge, and below thebottoms of the notches 35 and 36.

A web depends from the bar 43, and it is formed with a bushing it at itslower end. An operating lever ti, projecting from the right hand side ofthe machine, is pivotally mounted by a stud 58 on the depending bracket3!, and its inner end is connected to the bushing 55 by a pin 69. Itwill be seen that, when the lever 41 is moved down, the posts ii will beelevated to cause the blocks 52 to strike the imprisoned legs of thefowl, and to release the carcass without injury to the flesh.

The front casting or frame member is is formed With a web 5i extendingon either side of bearing bushings 52, the outer ends of which mergeinto additional bushings 53 and 54 of somewhat greater externaldiameter. The casting is reinforced by means of fillets 55 and webs 56.A ratchet wheel 51 is secured to the face of the bushing c, and thisassembly is rotatably mounted on a fixed shaft 58, extending betweenbosses 59 and BI formed on the rails I5 and [6. The web 5| is alsoformed with V-shaped notches 62, 63, which are aligned with the notches35 and 36 of the back casting H. The notches 62 and 63 are also equippedwith serrated jaws 31.

The front casting 18 may be rotated in a forward direction by means inthe nature of a clutch mechanism, adapted normally to impart rotation inone direction only, and including a pawl 65, pivotally mounted on a link66 which in turn is rotatably mounted on the shaft 58. The pawl 65 isurged into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 5i by a spring61 interposed between its end and a boss 63 formed on the link 66. Theouter end of the link 66 is connected to a lever 68, whose downwardmovement is limited by a stop block ll, connected to the upper rail [4.It will be seen that the lever 69- may be worked up and down, pumphandle fashion, to advance the front casting [8 in circular arcsdetermined by the swing of the lever 69. Reverse rotation of the castingi8 is normally prevented by a second, gravity engaged, pawl 12,pivotally mounted on lug 13 formed on the back casting ii.

A desire to illustrate the machine clearly has dictated against thesuperimposition on some of the views of the outline of the fowl. It willbe understood, however, that the carcass is laid on its back on theplatform [9, with the scaly section of the legs extending forwardly overthe pairs of aligned notches 35, 62, and 35, 63. The front casting is isbrought to an upright position, and the legs are pressed in its notchesand clamping jaws close to the feet. The legs are also pressed into theback notches close to the knuckle joints. Before doing more than makethe legs taut between the pairs of clamps, they are broken by a hammerwhich is located between the front and 4.

rear castings.

This hammer comprises a lever E5, pivotally mounted on a post it securedto the face of the pad 3 3 of the casting ii. The lever carries a hardplate '5'! having rounded edges which extend from either side of thelever, and which are located a distance from the pivot 18 to bring themover the legs when the lever is swung to either side. A coiled spring19, surrounding the pivot 78, exerts sufficient friction to maintain thelever in any desired position, such as the non-interfering verticalposition shown in Fig. 1, while permitting the lever to be swung sharplyto both right and left.

When the legs are positioned between the jaws, a mildly sharp blow withthe hammer will make a clean, complete fracture of the leg, and willalso break the skin. This preliminary operation is highly desirable. Inmachines which are intended to operate by fracture of the leg while thetendons are being drawn, a very considerable manual effort is required,and there is too high an incidence of flesh bruises and rupture of theedible skin.

After the legs have been broken, the lever 68 is oscillated through sucharcs as are desired, to rotate the casting i8, and thereby pull thesevered leg and the tendons from the thigh. The numerous tendons arevery tough, and therefore considerable force must be exerted to freethem from the thighs. It has been found that the pumping actionsimplifies the operation, imposes less strain on the operator, and thatthe progressive pulling extracts the tendons with less likelihood of oneor more snapping short, or dislodgin the muscular tissue. In the presentmachine, rotation of the casting l8 through about 270 of arc issufficient to remove the tendons from even large turkeys. After theyhave been separated, the disengaged parts are removed from the frontjaws, and the carcass is released by operating the lever 41, aspreviously described. The stumps may then readily be trimmed at thejoints. The front casting is then brought again to an upright position,for operation on another fowl.

While the invention has been described with respect to a specificembodiment, it is to be understood that it is not limited to the precisedetails thereof, but should be considered to encompass all thosemodifications and variations as fall within the scope of the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, a fixed frame member, arotatable frame member mounted in spaced and parallel relation to thefixed frame member, each of said members bein formed with spacedV-sh'aped notches aligned with the notches of the other member, legclamping jaws positioned on the edges of the notches, a clutch mechanismfor the rotatable frame member including means for rotating said memberin increments in a direction increasing the distance between the notchesof the fixed and rotatable member, means for normally forestallingrotation of the rotatable member in the opposite direction, and areleasing mechanism positioned adjacent the fixed frame member, saidreleasing mechanism including blocks movable toward the notches of thefixed frame member to force legs out of the clamping jaws thereon.

2. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, ,a fixed frame member andmeans for mounting the same in a substantially upright position, arotatable frame member mounted on said means in spaced and parallelrelation to the fixed frame member, said fixed frame member being formedwith a pair of spaced notches, said rotatable member being formed with apair of spaced notches in alignment with the first named notches,angular-1y inclined leg clamping jaws positioned on said notches,mechanism for rotating the rotatable member in increments and in adirection increasing the distance between the jaws thereof and the jawsof the fixed member, means cooperating with said mechanism for normallyforestaliing rotation of the rotatable member in the reverse direction,a vertically movable release bar mounted below the notches of the fixedframe member, and a lever connected to said bar to elevate the sametoward said notches.

3. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, a supporting structureincluding a pair of spaced parallel rails, a fixed frame member disposedtransversely of the rails and connected thereto, said frame member beingformed with a pair of spaced and substantially upright notches,angularly disposed and serrated clamping jaws positioned on the edges ofthe notches, said fixed frame member including a ledge below the notchesand extending rearwardly thereof, release rods slidably mounted in theledge and aligned with the notches, means biasing said rods to aposition below the notches and the jaws thereof, a lever pivotallymounted on said frame member and connected at one end to said rods tomove the same past the notches, a rotatable frame member mounted betweensaid rails in front of the fixed frame member, said rotatable memberbeing formed with notches substantially aligned with the notches of thefixed frame member, and a ratchet mechanism connected to the rotatableframe member to rotate the same in a direction increasing the distancebetween the notches of the fixed and rotatable members.

4. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, a supporting structureincluding a pair of spaced parallel rails, a fixed frame member disposedtransversely of and connected to the rails, a rotatable frame memberrotatably mounted between the rails in spaced parallel relation to thefixed frame member, both the fixed and rotatable frame members beingformed with pairs of spaced notches, the notches of one member beingaligned with the notches of the other member, a ratchet mechanismconnected to the rotatable frame member to rotate the same, a legbreaking lever pivotally mounted on the fixed frame member betweenthenotches thereof and between the fixed and rotatable frame members andadapted to be swung in either direction toward said rails to interceptan object disposed in said aligned notches, and friction means on saidlever to retain the same in an upright position between said alignednotches.

5. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, a supporting structureincluding a pair of spaced parallel rails, a fixed frame member disposedtransversely of and connected to said rails, said member being formedwith a pair of spaced and substantially upright V-shaped notches,clamping jaws formed with downwardly extending teeth positioned on theedges of the notches, a release bar slidably mounted on said fixedmember, means carried by said bar to elevate the same toward saidnotches, a leg breaking lever pivotally mounted on said fixed memberbetween the notches for swinging movement toward said rails, said leverincluding a part adapted to impinge on an object positioned in saidnotches and projecting outwardly therefrom, a shaft mounted between therails in spaced parallel relation to said fixed member and said legbreaking lever, a second frame rotatably carried by the shaft, saidsecond frame being formed with spaced V-shaped notches also providedwith clamping jaws, the notches of the frames being aligned, a ratchetmechanism connected between said second frame and shaft and operable torotate said second frame in one direction, and a disengageable latchmounted on the fixed frame and extending into engagement with saidratchet mechanism to forestall rotation of the second frame in theopposite direction.

6. In a machine for pulling tendons from fowl, a supporting structureincluding a pair of spaced parallel rails, a fixed frame member havingan upper edge disposed transversely of the rails and connected thereto,said frame member being formed with a pair of spaced and substantiallyupright V-shaped notches having their apices below the upper edge of theframe member, pairs of angularly disposed clamping jaws positioned onthe frame member and along the edges of the notches, said jaws beingformed on their inner edges with downwardly sloping teeth, a rotatableframe member mounted transversely between the rails in front of andspaced from the fixed frame member, said rotatable member being formedwith spaced V-shaped notches substantially aligned with the notches ofthe fixed frame member, pairs of angularly disposed clamping jaws formedwith downwardly sloping teeth secured along the edges of the notches ofthe rotatable frame member, a ratchet mechanism connected to therotatable frame member to rotate the same in a direction increasing thedistance between the notches and jaws of the fixed and rotatable framemembers, and a releasable pawl mounted on the fixed frame member andextending forwardly therefrom to the ratchet mechanism for normallyforestalling reverse rotation of the rotatable frame member.

STEPHEN J. OGRABISZ.

